When school holiday comes about, Centre Amane is as busy as ever. With groups of 15 to 25 children attending daily, we make sure to have a complete programme of activities to keep them motivated to come to the Centre, a safe space away from the streets. From January 20th to February 5th, the children were on holiday… and we had plenty for them to do!
On top of the regular activities that we have in place for them (football matches in the sports hall, games in the computer lab, drawing activities, etc.), we hosted some other exciting activities. During the first week of holiday, the FAPE/MCT team organised a treasure hunt in the sports hall, followed by a movie screening in the afternoon. On Tuesday, the children had an open discussion on religion during which they were able to express their thoughts. The children were very engaged and enjoyed sharing their ideas on that topic. During that same morning, Les Petits Journalistes were having their first photography workshop.
Les Petits Journalistes is a project that was started about a year ago with a group of older children to help boost their self-confidence and develop their talents and creativity. While, in the past, the children had the opportunity to carry out some interviews with local officials in Taroudant and to visit a radio station in Agadir, they never had the opportunity to use real photography and video equipment. One of our volunteers suggested expanding this project and leading photography and video workshops in which the children would have the opportunity to use his personal equipment. Over the course of the break, the children have had four classes: they got to learn the basics of photography, including the concepts of aperture and shutter speed, and they had the opportunity to practice taking pictures inside the Centre and in town. Even though we only have one camera to share, the children are still having fun and are already feeling confident using it. They are now working on writing articles and putting together a little newspaper of the Centre!
If you are interested in donating your equipment to the Little Journalists, click here.
By midweek, it was time for arts and crafts. The children were put into groups of two or three and had to work together in order to build small houses using popsicle sticks. They were also able to paint and decorate them as they wanted. The activity lasted all day! The children were very enthusiastic about it and worked wonderfully within their groups.
On another morning, the children took part in a dancing session, followed by an hour in the computer lab. They finished off their first week of break by making bracelets and playing board games.
The second week started off with a music workshop and a critical thinking card game in our activity room, which was recently renovated thanks to private donations. Other activities that took place during that week included a football tournament in the sports hall with three different teams, another arts and crafts activity in which the children drew their town, and an open discussion on the dangers of the internet.
It was a great two weeks at the Centre and the children all enjoyed the activities we had planned for them. We are looking forward to a productive second semester in school. We will continue homework support sessions and the expansion of the Little Journalists project, in addition to starting English classes taught by our new volunteer!
If you are interested in donating arts and crafts materials or sports equipment, browse our gift catalogue!